Christopher Spates
Major Garriott
ERH 221
November 24th, 2014
Since 1930 the defibrillator has been evolving into the life saving device that it is today. The defibrillator has had an important role regarding its importance in the medical field. A defibrillator is a device that analyzes the heart’s rhythm and if necessary, uses an electric current toward the chest wall or heart to control heart fibrillation. The defibrillator, like all new technology had imperfections and certain flaws that could be improved. Although the defibrillator has not had a direct impact on my life, it continues to create a safer self-conscious for people with heart conditions whom may need attention at any time.
Over time the defibrillator has changed drastically. When it was first used on a human in 1947 the devices received the electric current from wall sockets; making it very hard to control the amount of volts that would strike a patient at one time. The voltage could vary anywhere between 300 and 1,000 volts. This caused many problems because too much voltage would damage the cells within the patient’s heart muscle. Also the defibrillation devices at this time period were very large which made it very hard for transportation. The method that was used during this time period was considered to be closed-chest because it could only be used when the chest cavity was open during surgery. Even the defibrillator used in the TV show ER was much more technologically advanced than the first set of defibrillators. During this era of defibrillators doctors had little to no use due to its imperfections and lack of effectivity on patients.
In 1959 the Lown-Berkavits Waveform was created. This allowed for the voltage of energy transferred to the body to be more closely regulated, and also allowed for the voltage to be transferred into the body by paddle electrodes. Finally in the 1980’s the biphasic truncated waveform (BTE) was introduced by the University of Missouri. This new form of defibrillation required lower energy levels, and also lessoned the weight of the machine. From this point on the BTE set the basis for future defibrillators which allowed doctors the ability to more effectively implement this technology on their patients. This set the stage for people beginning to gain common knowledge of this device. After this point in time, people began having more belief in reviving someone whose heart had stopped. While the technology had not yet been perfected it gave physicians yet another tool to improve survival rates, and to offer hope to their patients.
Within the past twenty years the defibrillator has become more technologically advanced. They can be found just about everywhere; including school systems, public areas, and can even be implanted into a person’s chest. In 2010 a computer system was created to coincide with defibrillators in order to give medical personnel knowledge of each specific waveform a person needs in time of an emergency. Personally, I feel it is vital that people understand that they are able to be prescribed a defibrillator. Regardless of whether or not they ever use the device it gives the person a sense of security. Being that I am interesting in becoming a future physician I find it important that we continue to find ways to improve this device. The defibrillator is capable of saving lives and allowing family members to not live on the edge of their seats wondering what they will do in case of emergency. If it were not for the improvement’s made on the defibrillators the ability to save patient’s life would be hazardous and difficult. It is projected that with current defibrillators being placed in public areas that approximately 100,000 lives can be saved each year. When a patient’s heart stops, there is not a lot of time before severe organ damage or even death can occur. Having a defibrillator in close proximity could make the difference between life and death.
Overall, the defibrillator has become a major aspect of the medical field; with the amount of emergencies that occur today anywhere from heart conditions, car accidents, or even drowning. This technology offers a higher percentage of survival. If someone were to compare the technology in the medical field from twenty years ago to today, you may not notice a huge difference. However, the biggest differences are found in the technologies ability to offer patients more security in knowing medical devices are being placed more broadly in order to cut down on response time. Overtime technology is always changing and affecting the community both in a negative and positive way. However, it is my belief that the defibrillator has always had a positive impact on the community and continues to offer more security to people at risk for heart problems.
Defibrillator timeline
Defibrillator notes
Defibrillator Speech
Project 2: Reflective blog post
While researching information in order to create an archive of the defibrillator I learned a lot of new information. I researched the web in order to gain a better understanding of where the defibrillator originated from. Also, while collecting information I tried to determine the most important points in the defibrillators lifetime, and learned about the many different models of defibrillators that have been invented. This allowed me to determine which defibrillator models made for the biggest technological improvements over time. By doing this I was able to create my timeline, and make it as accurate as possible toward the defibrillators technological advances. There were many defibrillators created that did not have any major improvements, and that had no historical significance which I did not place on the timeline. The archive that I have created gives incite to the history of the timeline by stating facts that have changed the defibrillator overtime. This is important because it does not just list the names of defibrillators overtime which would be more of a memory; rather I have given brief descriptions of the improvements. If I were to do this project again it would be of significance to have a physical presence with past defibrillators. This would allow me to go into more description of the differences of defibrillators overtime whether it be weight, texture, simplicity, or even how smoothly the device worked. Having this physical collection would give me the ability to visualize the technology in person rather than relying on information gathered online. However, when it comes to determining the dates the devices were created, and the general information of each device I would much rather use the web. It cuts down on the amount of time I would spend researching in books for the information. Essentially, the best way to create your own archive today in my mind is to have a hybrid of information using both digital storage and having a physical collection of information also.
